Sen. Flake has options to force a vote
Jeff Flake wants to force Senate action on President Trump’s tariffs by delaying the confirmation process for judicial nominees. But the gambit already appears to have fallen short. According… Read More
Defining germaneness
During Senate consideration of the defense authorization bill, Senator Lindsey Graham, R-SC, objected to setting a vote on an amendment offered by Mike Lee, R-Utah, on the grounds… Read More
Polarization is an output of our process, not the cause of all our woes
Our recent piece, “Congress is Broken. But don’t blame polarization,” provoked a number of useful discussions about how political scientists should interpret the results of empirical models like DW-NOMINATE. Read More
The Senate – At War With Itself? A discussion with Molly Reynolds and James Wallner
In this Legislative Branch Capacity Working Group session, Senate experts James Wallner and Molly Reynolds consider the reasons for the Senate’s dysfunction. The wide ranging discussion touches on partisan dynamics,… Read More
Nothing is inevitable in politics, even in the Senate
Image source: CNN By James Wallner The future is not inevitable. And it cannot be predicted with certainty. There is no iron law of history according to which events unfold… Read More
What the Senate’s past tells us about a future nuclear option
Image source: US Senate By James Wallner “It is difficult to make predictions, particularly about the future.” We would do well today to heed Mark Twain’s version of the well-known… Read More
Power in the House: The House Freedom Caucus and Intraparty Organizations
In this January 23 Legislative Branch Capacity Working Group session, Professor Matthew Green of Catholic University discusses the House Freedom Caucus and political and policy influence… Read More
Ten ways to unsuck Congress
“This place sucks.” Sen. Joe Manchin’s candid commentary came during discussions with Democratic leadership about whether the West Virginia senator would run for reelection. Manchin’s remarks were less a… Read More
The delicate budget balancing act
James Wallner, senior fellow with R Street’s Governance Project and Legislative Branch Capacity Working Group teams, joins David Haun, Director of Public Sector Practice at Grant Thornton and… Read More
ICYMI: #Resistance and the crisis of authority in American politics
James Wallner writes in the Library of Law & Liberty: “When Leandra English, former chief of staff to the former director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, asked a… Read More